David brought me these from Shanghai -- I don't know how he managed to find a knitting shop, but he did! The double-pointed sets are tiny, and long! so presumably they are for lace rather than socks, which is what he was thinking of.
The Mandarin for "knitting needle" is zhī zhēn, or 织针, I'm told -- the zhēn (needles) part of this character appears at the bottom of the paper packet that looks like a sleeve for chopsticks. I guess the Chinese are still knitting with the UK needle sizing, as that is what these are all marked except for the bamboo circulars, which are stamped with metric sizes, and they still come in sets of four, not five. I'm delighted to see that one of the circulars comes with a gauge for the fine sizes, as I don't have one!
The circulars are interesting, as the one in the snowflakes packet is a steel cable encased in plastic, which is not only both strong and flexible but doesn't have that "flip" that plastic circs get in the middle of the cable after being in a packet for a long time. I'm very intrigued by the bamboo sets, as they have what appears to be IV tubing, light and hollow and very flexible. Not like I need to start a new project just now, but ....
What lovely tools to own, you are a lucky thing.
Posted by: Toffeeapple | February 12, 2016 at 08:54 AM
Fascinating. I wonder if the long dpns are for those who don't like circulars.
Posted by: Mary Lou | February 13, 2016 at 07:21 AM
I'll be interested in seeing how the long dpns go when knitting. They can't be for socks obviously at that length, so I guess they might be for people who don't like circular needles as Mary Lous suggests but I'd like to know how they work in practice.
Posted by: Sandie in Sydney | February 20, 2016 at 04:13 AM